A Journey in Portugal: Organized Chaos (Winter 2012)

Howdy folks, and welcome back. I apologize for the longer-than-usual delay in posting an update, but I’ve become a bit preoccupied with finishing Mass Effect 3 (such a good game). I’m still getting some FM time in, but on every occasion I’ve sat down to write an update, I somehow find myself with an Xbox controller in my hands in under five minutes. Shh, don’t tell anyone.

So before we begin, I don’t know if I ever explicitly stated this one way or another, but this is a «journeyman» story. I’ll stick with Dezembro as long as it feels right/they keep extending my contract, but if a better and more tempting job offer comes in, don’t be shocked if I take it. That’s not to say that I have any intention or plan of leaving, but just that I won’t restrict the save to a single club.

Now moving on! Last time around we wrapped up some summer transfer business and were heading into the season with a sunny outlook, and hoping to not get relegated. Unfortunately, I neglected to mention one of the most important pieces of business I’d done. Desperate for a defender (seriously, I just needed a warm body) and running out of money, I dove into the loan market and managed to bring on:

Nevermind that he was literally the only person I found who was willing to come play for us on loan, but he’s actually not a half bad defender. He’s a little sluggish, but he slots nicely into my, ehrm, starting lineup.

So, with a new loanee onboard, and a basket of hope,  we dove into our first month of football:

I’m willing to accept the draws as a consequence of the team needing time to gel, and I’m pleased with the win over Real, who had just been promoted up from the Third Division.  I’m not looking for miracles at this juncture, just consistency. Delightfully, October saw an even bigger improvement:

Pfft, rookie stuff, rookie stuff. All three of those teams are solid, and Belenenses had just been relegated from the Liga Orangina, so I’m stoked we managed to secure a win over them. I’m smelling a dominate season coming on. 4-0-2 in the first six? If we keep that up, we’ll be unstoppable. Oh, and that 7-1 demolishing of AD?

Then November happened…

Well I guess it was inevitable, and I suppose I’m glad we got that first loss in relatively early. We are better than both of those teams, and while I could live with the away loss, the home loss was a bitter pill to swallow. I started looking for a cause, and I found it in my star man. Lelo just hasn’t been hitting home lately, and his attributes have been on a steady decline since last spring. It’s looking like I’ll be jumping into that January transfer market, but we had to survive December first.

A mixed bag of a month, but at least we survived the Mayan apocalypse, right? That 2-5 demolishing to close out the year was painful to endure, and hopefully it was just a one-off (it better). To my great frustration, we’re lacking the very thing I was seeking: consistency. The eleven players who took to the pitch in our 7-1 win earlier in the year was the exact same group that trotted out for that 2-5 smackdown. We’ll play lights out one game, and struggle to string three passes together in the next. That’s lower league football for ya I suppose.

So anyway. January. There were signings to be made. These are them:

I lost a midfielder for the season to injury (6-7 months), and needed a new backup. Damaso fits the bill, and he’ll actually be ending up with some first team reps. The injured player (who’s name escapes me) ended being let go on a free transfer to make some wage cap room.

 His awesome name may have had a lot to do with this signing, but I also needed an attacking midfielder in a bad, bad way. My lone other AMC is only average, and after displaying a disturbing propensity to injury himself, I figured I needed an insurance policy. I expect Geovanni to replace him as my starter within weeks minutes.

My crown jewel. There was intense competition for his signature (seriously, something like six other clubs), and I had to reach in order to convince him to join us. His wage bill puts us well over my budget, and I’m way overpaying him, but it should be worth it. He’s very highly rated by both of my scouts, and at only 19, the future looks very bright for him. I’m hoping he’ll be a long-term fixture at the club.

So with the new signings in place, our first two games of January went fairly well:

We still have two more games to play this month, but I’m pleased with how we’ve looked. We’re playing solid attacking football, and all three of the January signings have integrated themselves quite well. Unfortunately, my loanee has put us in a bit of a spot:

Evidently we weren’t good enough for him to extend for another 6 months. The irony of it? He was sad to leave!

So anyway, despite my Benedict Defender doing his best to ruin our future, we’ve managed to establish ourselves nicely in the table:

I think we have what it takes to go up this year, but I expect to face some pretty stiff competition for that top spot. As per what would seem to be usual, the table is extremely tight. The gap between first and relegation is comparatively small compared to most leagues, and we’re in as much danger of falling down as we are from failing to go up. Not that I’m complaining of course, it all makes for an exciting ride.

Oh, and check out our cheeky little cup run (Board expectation: We hope you learn something from participating):

Yep, that’s right. Feast your eyes on 1 Dezembro, master of those weaker than ourselves, and wimps to our equals.

So that’s it for this round. I’ve actually already finished this season, so the update cycle may be pretty quick in an attempt to catch up with the current in game date. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, it depends on how nefarious my Xbox controller is when I get home.

Thanks for reading!